Good news to all Linux users as we announce the release of DEFCON Linux today!

Apologies to all those who have been waiting for this release. As so often occurs with development, we experienced some unforeseen delays, this time due to compatibility complications between the Mac and PC DEFCON versions but we hope you’re happy with the results :)

The developers of Wormux, an open-source multiplayer strategy game inspired by Worms, have requested assistance from the community in debugging their project so that new features can be added:

Of course, if you are looking for a project to make regular contribution and if you love our game, I request your help. If you don’t have time for a long term collaboration, seeing all the little bugs, don’t hesitate to send us a patch: That’s one small patch for man, one giant patch for community (better wordplay in french).

The last time we had looked at the performance ofIntel’s integrated graphics under Linux with their open-source driver was backin February when testing the GMA 3000 IGP using an Intel DQ965GFEKRmotherboard. However, with display drivers constantly improving, we recentlycarried out some additional Intel Q965 graphics tests along with comparingthese numbers to discrete graphics solutions from AMD/ATI andNVIDIA.

While not yet on par with the closed-source drivers fromother vendors, hopefully Intel’s performance will continue to improve, andinspire the competition to follow their example.

The Linux hardware review site Phoronix has posted an early look at the newest ATI graphics card:

It’s late, but it’s finally here. This morning AMD will be formally announcingtheir long-awaited Radeon HD 2000 series, or perhaps better known as the ATIR600 GPU. The AMD Radeon HD 2000 series features DirectX 10.0 (well, for thosethat use Microsoft products), Avivo HD, a programmable tessellation unit,CrossFire support, and much more. This morning we have our technology previewof ATI/AMD’s next generation GPUs along with what’s in store for Linux and theR600 series support.

We have received notification of 2 new petition for request of games to be ported to Linux. The first one is for The Witcher which was supposedly going to have a Linux port released by the developer which never occurred. The second petition is for Fallout 3. Best of luck to their efforts.

A demo of Penumbra: Overture has been released for the general public.This game is best described as a first person adventure game which focuses on story, immersion and puzzles. Instead of using violence to progress the player has to use his/her wits to guide Philip, the main character in the game, on his quest. If you enjoy the demo, I would recommend you purchase the game for a mere $ 19.99

Name/Version: Berusky 0.4.0Summary: Berusky is a free logic game, published under GNU Public License and it’s based on an ancient puzzle named Sokoban. An old idea of moving boxes in a maze has been expanded with new logic items such as explosives, stones, special gates and so on. In addition, up to five bugs can cooperate and be controlled by the playeScreenshots [ View ] Download [ Berusky 0.4.0 ]

Name/Version: Brikx 0.4.0Summary: A small puzzle game in which your goal is to remove all tiles from the table. You are held up by other tiles, gravity walls, and other things, and you can even redesign the level while playing!Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Brikx 0.4.0 ]

Name/Version: Cytadela 0.6.3Summary: Cytadela is a conversion of an Amiga Doom clone that was also called “Cytadela”. The original was created in the mid-1990’s by Virtual Design, and released first in Poland and then in other countries.Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Cytadela 0.6.3 ]

Name/Version: JGame 2.1.1Summary: JGame is a small 2D game engine that runs on any Java 1.2+ platform. It provides a very high-level framework, enabling “classic” type arcade games to be developed with a minimum of code and effort. It is based on sprites with automatic animation and collision detection, and a tile-based background with easy sprite-tile interaction facilities. JGame games can be run as both applications and applets, and can be scaled to any resolution or run full-screen.Screenshots [ View ] Download [ JGame 2.1.1 ]

Name/Version: Solar Visitor 0.2.1Summary: Solar Visitor is a space simulator where the user flies around our Solar System in a 3D view. The program and source code are offered free, there are builds for Windows and Linux. It uses the Ogre graphics library. The planets and objects were created with the Blender program.Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Solar Visitor 0.2.1 ]

Name/Version: Tux Math Scrabble 4.0Summary: Tux Math Scrabble is a math version of the popular board game for education. The game challenges young people to construct compound equations and consider multiple abstract possibilities.Screenshots [ View ] Download [ Tux Math Scrabble 4.0 ]

Berusky, a logic game based on an ancient puzzle named Sokoban, has been released for Linux under the GPL. The original concept of moving boxes in a maze has been expanded with new logic items such as explosives, stones, special gates, and so on. Additionally, up to five bugs can cooperate and be controlled by the player.

Our very own curmudgeon, Matt Matthews, had the opportunity to interview Linux gaming luminary Ryan “icculus” Gordon about various topics last week:

I’m sort of the opinion that the Loki/LGP model isn’t the right way to go, though. I think we need more ports on the same disc as the Windows version, or freely downloadable for use with the Windows retail disc…it’s a serious problem not being able to get the product to consumers trivially…I think it would be hard to make a profit within those bounds with a third-party porting house.

Version 1.7 of Tactical Operations:Crossfire, a counter-terrorism-themed multiplayer modification for Unreal Tournament 2004, has beenreleased. The changelog includes bugfixes, new UI and effects features,gameplay tweaks, additional maps and player models, and administrativeimprovements.

If I recall correctly, around 5% of the various id-produced first-personshooter players were on Linux (although back in 2000 John Carmack noted thatthe retail Quake III: Arena Linux sales were disappointing); if that was thecase, it’s neat to see a growing amount of Linux gamers supporting indiestudios.

The Creative site was updated recently with news that the closed-source audio drivers for their X-Fi Line of products won’t be out in Q2 as was last expected. Instead the website now promises driver releases towards the end of the year. As was mentioned in the previous LG post on this subject, a little less than one year ago, the most interesting part of this release isn’t the sound card support as it is the promise of EAX support for the first time ever under Linux.

According to a blog post at Tech Target, AMD has recently announced the future release of “open source graphics drivers”. This doesn’t describe the status of them, 2D or 3D, hopefully more announcements will follow soon.